


Pieces of a Love Story

by EarthboundJedi



Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Jlaire Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-01 07:14:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15137936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EarthboundJedi/pseuds/EarthboundJedi
Summary: A collection of Jlaire ficlets for the prompts ofJlaire Week(Hopefully I'll be able to come up with something for each prompt, but we'll see what happens)





	1. Midnight Sonnet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 1 - Shakespeare

_Tap..._

_Tap..._

_TAP!_

Claire sighed and stumbled out of bed, muttering under her breath as she made her way over to her window.

“I _swear_ , if it's that change-thing NotEnrique again, I'm going to drop kick him so hard -”

But when she looked out the window, the little green troll was nowhere to be found. There _was_ , however, an extremely awkward teenage boy standing on her lawn with a small handful of pebbles. Claire hastily opened her window.

“Jim!” she hissed, “It's the middle of the night! Go home, before my parents see you!”

He ignored her warning, abandoning his collection of small rocks and dramatically getting down on one knee. “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?”

“Jim -”

“It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!”

“Jim, the play was three days ago. Are you okay?”

“Never better,” he grinned and got to his feet. Readjusting his book bag, he quickly scanned to make sure the coast was clear before shimmying up to the overhang in front of her window. His blue eyes sparkled with moonlight and excitement. “I just got back from Trollmarket,” he explained, “and I have a present for you.”

“Couldn't this have waited 'til, I dunno, _morning_?”

“Oh. Um…” Jim’s face twisted into a guilty expression, as if he were just now realizing it was almost midnight. “Sorry, I -”

“Whatever, doesn't really matter now,” she rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards in a small smile. _God, he's such an oblivious dork. A cute, oblivious dork._ Sighing internally, Claire leaned against the inside of the window frame. “So, what's the present? Am I allowed to visit Trollmarket yet?”

“Um… not yet. Sorry. But this is the next best thing, I swear!” He flipped open the top of his messenger bag and pulled out a large leather-bound tome.

“A… book?”

“ _A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore_ ,” he stated, passing the book to her through the window. He added with a smirk, “Volume One.”

“Really?” she accepted the tome with a smile. “How many volumes are there?”

“At least forty-seven.”

“Holy shish kabobs, _forty-seven_?

“Yeah, apparently there’s a lot of Troll history. The ‘brief’ part is kind of a lie.”

Claire quirked an eyebrow at him, “So where are the other forty-six?”

“Oh, umm…” Jim awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “At my house. I can kinda only fit one volume in my backpack at a time.”

“Well then,” she continued with a glint in her eye, “I guess I’ll have to come over to your house a lot until I’ve read them all.”

Even in the dim light, she could see a faint blush color Jim’s cheeks. “You… _my_ house?”

“Duh. That way you don’t have to risk life and limb climbing up here with a book every night. Besides,” she winked, “something tells me it won’t take me long to read them.”

“They’re written in Trollish, you know.”

“Then I guess I’ll be learning a new language, too.”

He gave her a look that was part shock, part adoration, “Wow. Um. So… you’re not mad at me?”

“I mean, you _did_ wake me up in the middle of the night,” she teased, setting the book off to the side so she could place her hands over Jim’s. “But no, I’m not mad. This is great, seriously. Hopefully someday I’ll get to go to Trollmarket, but until then I can at least learn all about it.”

“Thanks for being so awesome about all this, Claire. I know it’s a lot to take in,” he sighed. Then he smiled, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

“You really don’t have to.”

“Thou art more lovely and more temperate.”

“Seriously, Jim -”

He took one of her hands, looking at her with sincerity and tenderness, “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.”

Her breath caught in the back of her throat. “Jim…” she whispered.

They exchanged a glance that lasted a short eternity.

“We… we have school in the morning,” she cleared her throat, extricating herself from his grasp.

“Oh. Right. Um…” he glanced down at the yard below. “Guess I should get going, then.”

“Yes, you should,” she smiled and leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

The small gesture immediately flustered Jim and nearly caused him to lose his balance and fall off the overhang, but he caught himself just in time before tumbling over the edge. “I’m good!” he exclaimed.

“Shhh, my parents are going to hear you!” she whispered, her heart beating much faster than usual. “Go home, Romeo. And _please_ don’t fall off the roof.”

Jim grinned at her, “As you wish.”

Claire watched as the boy deftly navigated back down to ground level. As he walked over to where he’d left his bike, she murmured softly under her breath so that no one else could hear, “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow…”

He glanced up at her as he straddled his bicycle. She waved him off, and she could barely make out his lopsided smile before he pedaled down the street and into the night.

“... That I shall say good night till it be morrow.”


	2. Different From the Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 - Monsters
> 
> (takes place after the events of S3)

“Jim, maybe if you just relax…”

“You don't think I've tried that already?” he growled, abruptly getting up from the dirt-crusted cushion so he could cower in the corner of the cave. “Face it, Claire, I'm stuck in this stupid armor. Just like I'm stuck like _this_ ,” he gestured at himself, “ _forever_.”

“Jim, you don't know that,” Claire calmly replied, crossing the floor until she stood directly in front of him. He flinched when she took his four-fingered hand, but her grip was too firm for him to pull away. Not without hurting her.

“We've been trying for a week now. It's like the dumb thing has fused with me or something,” he groaned. “As if this new body wasn't already uncomfortable enough…”

“We’ll find a way to get you out of your armor, Jim. I promise.” She squeezed his hand. “Maybe the amulet still thinks you're in danger. That's how it's always worked in the past, right?”

“Well, yeah. But we defeated Gunmar and Morgana! What else could possibly be threatening me right now?”

Claire stepped even closer to him, letting go of his hand so that she could reach up and spread her fingers across his chest. Even through the shell of the Eclipse armor, he could feel her; the sensation of her wandering fingers sent a thrill of excitement through his nerves. Followed by a wave of anxiety.

_Too close._

He swiftly ducked away from her and slid out of the corner, making a beeline for their makeshift bathroom on the opposite side of the room. Gripping the edges of the wooden washbasin they’d fashioned, he glared at himself through the broken mirror haphazardly leaning against the wall. Horns that protruded out of a dark mane of hair, fangs that curved out of his mouth and constantly grated against stone-like skin… the only part of his face he still recognized were his eyes.

_I’ve turned into a monster..._

He was startled when Claire came up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Jim,” she began, “please talk to me. What’s wrong?”

He shrugged her off, hunching further into himself. “I don’t know... Nothing. Everything! Aaaggh!!” he cried out as he slammed his fist down, breaking off a piece of the basin. He sunk down onto his knees and ran his hands over his horns, sobbing quietly, “I just don’t know who I am anymore…”

He felt Claire at his side, one of her hands placed reassuringly on his back. “We’ve been over this before. You’re still Jim. Just… a new Jim.”

“Yeah, well ‘new Jim’ isn’t anything like the old Jim,” he grumbled. “I’m a monster. I’m _dangerous_.”

“That’s not how I see you,” she soothed, moving her hand up to stroke his hair. “You’re a hero. A Trollhunter… And my boyfriend.” A soft pair of lips kissed him lightly on the cheek, and Jim felt himself flush at the contact.

Then he immediately turned defensive again.

“But Claire, what if… what if what’s under here is…”

“Jim, I don’t care. The only thing that matters is that what’s under the armor is still _you_. I love you, Jim, no matter what you look like.”

He turned his head to face her, seeing the concern and sincerity coloring her features. “It’s not just the looks, though…” he started, “I… I _feel_ different. I act differently than I used to. It’s… it’s almost like I’m part wild animal or something.” He carefully took her hand, terrified he would hold on too tight. “I don’t want to hurt you, Claire.”

“You won’t hurt me,” she assured him, “I won’t let you.” She smirked and planted another kiss on his cheek. “And we’ll get through all this new stuff together, okay?”

“Okay…”

“You still don’t seem convinced.”

“It’s just…” he sighed, lowering his eyes, “I also don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Jim,” she said softly, shifting so that she could hold both sides of his face, “Why on Earth would I be disappointed with you?”

He instantly thought of a million reasons why. “What if -”

But he was forced to swallow those reasons when Claire swooped in and pressed a kiss to his lips. It was a mostly one-sided kiss, mainly due to the fact that Jim had absolutely no idea what to do with his mouth - hell, he hadn’t really known what to do _before_ he’d acquired fangs. But he sank into her touch as best as he could, reveling in the feeling of how soft, how warm, how _human_ she was against him. As he lost himself in the moment, he almost started to feel a little more of his own humanity return. Almost. And that strange, excited feeling coiled up inside him again, though this time it wasn’t nearly as terrifying.

After thoroughly kissing him, Claire pulled away and whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Claire.”

She smiled and leaned in to embrace him, wrapping her arms around his middle. He held her in return, taking a deep breath when he caught wind of her scent; she smelled warm and sweet with a hint of pine, surely a remnant from last night’s trek through the forest. He closed his eyes and let out his breath with a contented sigh, wishing for nothing more than to stay like this, wrapped in Claire’s arms, forever.

He could practically feel the heavy weight that had made its home in his chest start to lighten and float away.

Claire gasped, “Jim! Your armor…”

Jim’s eyes flew open, looking down to see his armor starting to glow and dematerialize. In no time, Jim was no longer constrained by his protective prison. Taking an even deeper breath as the amulet dropped into his waiting hand, he grinned at Claire with excitement, “It’s finally gone! Claire, I’m free! Haha!” Liberated, he flung his arms out wide and flopped backwards onto the floor of the cave.

She laughed with him, “See? I knew you could do it!” She crawled over so that she could playfully muss his hair. Then, eyeing his new armorless state, she added, “Though I think we need to find you some new clothes.”

Sheepishly, Jim glanced down at the tattered remains of his human clothes, hastily trying to cover a couple rips in his jeans that were bordering on scandalous. “Aw man, I liked this outfit! What do you think the chances are that they make this sweater in a larger size?”

“I guess we’ll find out,” she chuckled. “C’mon, let’s go see if Blinky has anything to cover you.” Pulling themselves off the floor, Claire gave him an appreciable once-over. “By the way,” she admitted, “I am _definitely_ not disappointed.”

Jim’s only response was a sheepish grin and a blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally couldn't stop listening to [Monster by Imagine Dragons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGbNbn8tB5k) as I was writing this - the song just fits so well.


	3. My Math Tutor Is My Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 - Homework
> 
> (takes place between season 2 and season 3)

“What’d you get for number fourteen?”

Claire looked up from her novel and glanced at her notebook. “Negative two i,” she stated before returning to her reading.

“Huh,” Jim tapped his forehead with the eraser of his pencil, “I got forty-two… wait, _‘i’?_ That’s not a number!”

“Jim, it’s an imaginary number. We covered that back in chapter eleven.”

“Chapter eleven? Hold up, what chapter are we on, again?”

She looked at him over the top of her book. “Nineteen.”

Jim dropped his pencil so he could clutch the sides of his head. “Aw man! I was doing the problem set for chapter _nine!”_ Dejected, he slumped backwards on the couch. “This is hopeless, I’m gonna fail algebra. So much for passing tenth grade.”

Claire sighed a little and set her book down on the coffee table. “Jim,” she started, scooting closer to him on the couch, “You’ve got this. You still have a few weeks left, that’s plenty of time to get caught up and pass your final.”

“Yeah, in normal-people time,” he rolled his eyes. “But between juggling school and keeping the population of Trollmarket hidden and Gunmar’s impending attack which _could come any day now -_ “

Claire placed one of her hands on his knee. “Jim. It’s _okay_ . It’s not like you’re doing this all on your own, you’ve got us to help you. We’ll get through all this, _together._ ”

“I know. But I’m still going to fail algebra.”

“Well, your math tutor thinks you have potential,” she winked.

“I’m pretty sure my math tutor is biased,” he playfully retorted, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.

“Hey, no kisses ‘til you’ve finished your homework,” she reprimanded, pushing him away slightly.

“Aw, c’mon,” he pouted, “I’ve still got, like, twenty problems left!”

“Then you’d better get to work,” she smirked, picking her book back up and sliding to the other side of the couch.

Jim sighed and flipped the pages of his textbook to the correct chapter. “Um, Claire?”

“I told you, no kisses!”

“I know, I know! But I have a math question.”

“Alright, what’s up?”

“What exactly _is_ ‘i’?” he asked.

“The square root of negative one,” she answered.

“Seriously? But what does that even mean?” He covered his face with his hands, “Ugh, I'm doomed!”

“No, you're _not_ ,” she reassured. “Try rereading sections two and three, I think it might help.”

“If you say so…”

Distracted by thumbing through his textbook for whatever was supposed to help him, Jim almost missed the feather-light touch of a pair of lips against his cheek.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, quickly turning towards Claire, “I thought you said ‘no kisses!’”

She smiled slyly, “I thought you could use a little extra motivation.”

“Oh, that was motivating, alright,” he commented, “but not exactly ‘mathematically’ motivating, if you know what I mean.”

“How about this, then,” she proposed, “from now on, I’ll give you a kiss every time you get a question right. Okay?”

“Works for me,” he grinned. “I guess there really are perks when your tutor is your girlfriend.”

“Just shut up and do your homework.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~it's all cute and fluffy 'til you remember season 3 is a Thing~~


	4. Moondance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 - Eres tu / Our song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _It's a marvelous night for a moondance..._ ~~wait, wrong song~~

Whenever Jim disappeared from New Trollmarket, Claire could pretty much always find him here - sitting on a particularly forlorn outcropping of rock, taking in the dim starlight while he watched the glittering skylines of Jersey City and NYC gleam in the distance. Occasionally she'd sit with him and keep him company, but most nights, after confirming his whereabouts, she would simply leave him alone to stare wistfully at the horizon, respecting his right to a sliver of a moment of alone time amidst the hectic schedule that comes with being the Trollhunter.

Tonight, however, was different than most nights.

“Hey Jim,” she said softly as she sat down beside him.

“Hey,” he muttered, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her close. Since his transformation, Jim's body temperature wasn't nearly as warm as it used to be, but he was still warm enough to ward off the chill she felt from the autumnal air blowing around them.

“What's on your mind?” Not that she really had to ask, already knowing what he was about to say.

“Not much, just missing home.”

“You know,” she started, “they're making good progress on the Gyre station. We should be able to visit Arcadia soon.”

“That’ll be nice,” he sighed. The light from the waning moon accentuated the lines of his face, revealing bags under his eyes that had formed despite his stony skin. “FaceTime is great and all, but it's not the same as seeing someone in person.”

“Your mom?”

“And Tobes,” he admitted. “And AAARRRGGHH!!! God, I miss everyone so much.”

“Soon,” she placed her hand on his knee, “I promise.”

Jim tore his gaze from the horizon to look at her. “But at least I have you,” he smiled.

“And Blinky. And Nomura. And the rest of Trollmarket.”

“Well, yeah. But right now, it's just you,” he purred, nuzzling the top of her head.

_ “¡Dios mío!” _ she laughed, “Jim, stop! You're gonna mess up my hair!” She felt his chest rumble as he laughed along, obeying her wishes and sparing her recently brushed hair. Leaning against her boyfriend, she hummed, “So, do you know what today is?”

“Um, a Tuesday?”

“Guess again.”

“Crap, it's Wednesday, isn't it?”

“Actually, it's Friday, but that's not really important.”

“ _ Friday?  _ Ugh, I hate not having a regular schedule anymore,” he groaned.

“Jim, it's not about what day of the week it is,” she chided.

“Then what is it?”

A smile played across her face as she dug her phone out of her pocket. Unlocking it, she pressed play on her already queued up playlist. She placed her phone securely on top of a small rock pile, grateful she'd bought a heavy-duty phone case before their journey east, and carefully slid out from under Jim's arm to stand up as the familiar guitar intro began.

He gave her a very confused look when she held a hand out to him.

“It's been exactly six months since we had our first dance,” she explained, still holding out her hand.

“Wait, really?” He finally got to his feet, taking her hand in his. “I didn't realize I was supposed to keep track of stuff like that.”

“You're not,” she stated, reaching up to place her free hand on his shoulder as his other hand wrapped around her waist. “I just happened to really like that moment, so I decided to remember it.”

“Oh.” He grinned and led them to a flatter section of rock, slowly spinning her around. The moon hung above them in the sky, it’s white glow providing a small spotlight for their impromptu dance floor.

_ Tengo una sed de acariciarte… _

She giggled when he dipped her.

“Eres tú,” he started singing along to the music just as he had so many month ago, endearingly off-pitch.

_ Quiero contemplarte sin contar el tiempo… _

“You know” he wondered out loud as they swayed to the beat, “that means it's also been six months since I went to the Darklands. And set off the stupid chain of events that landed us here.”

“They weren't  _ all _ stupid,” she pulled herself closer to him, resting her cheek against his chest. “You rescued my baby brother, for one. And we saved Arcadia. That's kind of a big deal.”

“But we lost Draal. And Vendel. And, let's not forget, Merlin turned me into this weird half-troll thing,” he growled.

“I know,” she soothed, “let's just try to enjoy the moment, okay?”

As they continued to rock back and forth, she could tell Jim’s mood was still sullen.

“Hey,” she murmured, looking up at his face, “If it's any consolation, I think you make one damn attractive human-troll hybrid.”

He chuckled lowly, “I'm pretty sure you're biased.”

“Maybe. But it's true.”

_ Me encanta verte, tenerte, abrazarte… _

Claire wriggled her hand from Jim’s grip so she could wrap her arms around his middle, squeezing him tight. “You know what?” she asked.

“What?”

“It's also been six months since you tried to kiss me while we were dancing.” She smiled mischievously at him.

“Is that supposed to be a hint?”

“Not if I have to tell you it's a hint.”

“So, was that you telling me it was a hint?”

“Jim, would you just shut up and kiss me already?”

Grinning like an excited five-year-old on Christmas morning, Jim bent over and tilted Claire's chin up so he could bring their lips together. One thing that hadn't changed during his transformation was how sweet and tender Jim could be, especially in moments like this. She reveled in the contact the short kiss brought before they once again resumed circling each other.

_ Pero tú, siempre en mi mente... _

Eventually, Jim spoke again, “So… it's really  _ Friday?” _

“Yes,” she giggled. “Now hush, the song's almost over!”

As she sank into his arms with a sigh, Jim started singing again:

“Eres tú…”


	5. Children of the Wheat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 - Flour

_ BZZZZT. _

Jim rolled over onto his stomach and groaned as he reached for his phone, groggy with sleep. It was too early for this.

Swiping up to see the notification, he took note of the time: 4pm. Which meant, back in Arcadia, it was… 2pm? 1pm? He wasn’t quite sure if they’d crossed over into the Eastern Time Zone yet. Either way, it was a perfectly normal time for humans with perfectly normal schedules to be texting their best friend.

Unfortunately, Jim no longer had a perfectly normal schedule.

But that didn't mean he couldn't take time out of his definitely-not-normal schedule to talk to Toby.

Jim peered at the screen to see what his friend had sent him:

**[Jimbo. ur not gonna believe what coach lawrence is making us do in health class. again.]**

A moment later, Jim’s phone buzzed as he received an image. He opened it, seeing that it was a bag of flour with a face drawn on it. He texted back:

[lol, seriously?]

**[yeah, since *almost* the whole class failed the first time. apparently we need it to graduate. luckily, darcy and i don’t have to sweat since we already passed ;P]**

[omg]

**[yeah. u and claire really dodged a bullet. how’s the trip btw]**

[we’re somewhere in the midwest now… maybe indiana? or ohio? not sure. i always sucked at geography]

**[dude, u can just read the signs. that's what they're there for]**

[yeah… they're kind of hard to read in the dark]

**[oh. right. ...shoot u were probs sleeping, huh? my bad. i’ll let u get back to that]**

[lol thanks. talk to you later, tobes]

With a sigh, Jim looked up from his phone. Claire was lying a few feet away, and from the look of it was wide awake. When he made eye contact, she quickly scooted across the floor to sidle up next to him. “Was that Toby?” she asked, leaning her cheek against his shoulder. His armor had finally come off a week ago, and now it seemed like she was on a personal mission to touch him as much as possible so they could both get used to his new skin. He still felt uncomfortable in it, and ridiculously insecure, but they were making progress. Slowly.

“Yeah,” he replied. He showed her the picture of the flour bag.

She immediately started giggling. “Oh man, they have to do that assignment  _ again? _ That sure was nuts the first time,” she looked up at him, her brown eyes shining in the dim light of the cave. “Remember how you blew up our child?”

_ Our child.  _ His stomach sank. “Hey, I was kinda busy fighting a Gruesome, in case you forgot!” he tried to keep his tone lighthearted, but notes of melancholy still managed to weave their way in.

And Claire noticed. “Jim, what’s wrong?”

He tried to remain silent, but a distressed sound rumbled low in his chest. He kept forgetting that was a thing his body did now.

“Jim, please talk to me.”

With a huff, he folded his arms in front of him on the floor and hid his face inside the little barrier he’d created. “Nothing,” he growled. “It’s stupid.”

“Try me,” she whispered, her breath close enough to tickle his ear. He felt her lightly kiss the tip of his ear, and he had to fight to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upward - he really liked it when she did that.

And she knew it.

He begrudgingly unburied his face. “It’s just,” he began with a sigh, “I also remember thinking how it would be nice to be a dad someday. I was kinda looking forward to it, actually,” he admitted sheepishly.

“And?” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“I mean, that’s pretty much out of the picture now.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure I  _ do _ . I’m half-troll now, remember?”

“It’s sort of hard to forget,” she said with a sly smile, planting a firm kiss on his cheek. “Doesn’t mean you still can’t be a father, though.”

“Claire,” he frowned. “I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure the whole ‘half-troll’ thing doesn’t really work with… well, you know.”

“Again, you don't know that. Not until we.. uh...”

He looked at her with a mix of shock and embarrassment. “Wait, are you suggesting…?”

“Ohmigod, Jim! Not right  _ now! _ ” Even in the low lighting, he could see the pink flush blooming on her face. “But, you know. Maybe in the future. Someday.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. But a little spark of hope flickered somewhere deep inside his chest. As well as a small rush of excitement.

“And, well,” she continued, “if that doesn't work, then adoption is always an option.”

“Oh yeah, because I'm sure an adoption agency would  _ love _ to hand a kid over to a monster,” he deadpanned.

“ _ Not _ monster. Half-troll, half-human,” she scowled at him, pointedly running a hand through his mane of hair. “Stop being so pessimistic - when the time comes, we'll figure something out. Who knows? Maybe we'll end up adopting a troll!”

And just like that, the lopsided grin he'd held at bay earlier came back in full force. “ _ We _ ?”

“Well,  _ duh _ . I mean, you're pretty much stuck with me at this point,” Claire teased, her blush taking on a more rosy hue. “I can't exactly go back to dating regular guys after someone as exciting as you, now, can I?”

“God, I love you,” he murmured. He leaned over and, as gently as he could, kissed her cheek. A soft rumbling started up in his chest.

“Jim, are you… purring?”

“Apparently.”

“That's adorable.” She smiled mischievously and sat up on her knees, mussing his hair lovingly before standing up.

“Hey, where are you going?” he whined, rolling onto his back.

“Don't worry, I won't be gone long.” She winked before walking to the other side of the cave, to the place where they were keeping their food supplies. It was mostly there for Claire's sake, though occasionally there were days when Jim found he could eat with her. But usually that was only when meat was on the menu. And his portion was served raw.

After a minute she came back over, carrying something behind her back.

“Whatcha got there?” he asked playfully, knowing full well that she was up to something.

“Training,” she smirked. In one swift motion, she dropped a five-pound bag of flour square onto his chest, something that would have knocked the wind out of him had he still been only human.

“Hey!”

“Don't blow this one up, I need it for breakfast tomorrow.”

He gasped in mock horror, “You cannibal!”

She giggled as she laid down on the floor next to him, burrowing in between his arm and his side. He rubbed her shoulder with one hand while he lifted up the impromptu flour-child with the other.

“I'm gonna call this one Jimmy Lake Junior Jr. the Second.”

“You’re officially never allowed to name anything ever again.”


	6. Bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 - Daylight and Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did something a little different with the prompt this time around - it's more prose than fic, mostly because there's an accompanying drawing (you'll see it at the end).  
> Hopefully y'all like it :)

He was the moon.

Constantly in orbit, always half in shadow.

But the other half glowed -  _ oh, did he glow _ \- glowed with such a radiant light that even the darkest of nights could glean a ray of hope from his presence.

But 'tis common knowledge the moon’s light comes from the sun.

And  _ she _ was his sun.

Always burning with intensity, a source of warmth and an ever-present beacon of light. Her smile could light up the heavens.

Oh, how he loved to see her smile!

For with that smile came a sense of reassurance, a familiar anchor embedded in the chaos around them. It was always there -  _ she _ was always there - lest he find his current trajectory temporarily taking him out of range, out of sight of that brilliant light. When he strayed, the mere thought of her presence would be enough to draw him back to her side so that sun and moon could resume their dance in the heavens.

So enamored was the moon with the sun that at first he did not notice the spots darkening her surface, did not notice the shadows even as they grew. For how could anything be amiss while she was smiling so bright?

Time passed, more and more of the sun darkened, but, as there was still sufficient light for the moon to reflect across the night sky, he failed to detect any issue.

It was not until she was reduced to a shadow of her former self that he finally realized.

By then, it was too late.

The sun, once so radiant to behold, had been marred and clouded with darkness to the point where none could see her light. None, that is, except for the moon.

For the moon vividly remembered her light, and so he actively searched for it amongst the darkness that had invaded his beloved dance partner. Sometimes he could find it, discovering cracks and flaws in the shadows that revealed her fire still burning underneath. But soon the darkness became so thick, so controlling, that those glimpses of the sun's former glory became few and far between.

The sun was no longer herself, not on the surface. Outwardly, she was no more than another rock hurtling through space and time.

By definition, she was no longer the sun.

By definition, he could no longer be the moon.

For what is a moon without its sun? He had no light of his own, everything he embodied was a reflection of her.

But the moon would not,  _ could not _ give up hope. He fervently believed his sun was still somewhere inside, hidden beneath the layers of shadow. Though she was unresponsive, there must be some way to reach her. To help her remember her former splendor.

To bring her light back to this world.

In his desperation, the moon wept. His tears scattered like many stars, filled with bright memories of what had been. Those memories sparkled on their own to dimly illuminate their surroundings, once again bringing a sliver of hope to the darkest of nights.

His desperation gave way to determination; if something as small as a teardrop could channel a light of its own, surely a sunless moon was capable of more than he'd imagined.

He channeled that thought and mixed it with the memory of her light, how bright and warm it had shined. How joyous it had been to watch dance across the sky. The life it brought to everything it reached.

Something within the moon shifted. At first he merely glowed, reminiscent of all those nights he'd happily reflected the sun's rays. Then the glow intensified, growing brighter and brighter as his determination, his  _ passion _ , ignited a flame within him, engulfing his very being until even the half of him perpetually in shadow was no more.

By definition, he was no longer the moon.

But he had not become a sun. No... only one may hold that title, and he refused to strip his beloved of that name.

Rather, he had become Daylight itself, shining brightly in the sky as a pleading invitation to his sun:

_ Come back to me. _

* * *

 

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've had this drawing stashed away for a while now - I was originally going to use it as my submission to the upcoming Trollhunters fanzine, but then season 3 happened and I came up with something different for that. And then I realized this little beaut would fit nicely with this prompt, so... yeah. I've been holding onto it ever since.


	7. By Your Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7 - Promise

Claire sighed contently, watching New Trollmarket bustle below her from the privacy of one of the gemstone caverns nestled inside the cliff walls. The centrally-located Heartstone, though smaller than the one that had been under Arcadia, glowed vibrantly in time with the wealth of life surrounding it. It was something she'd picked up on since leaving with Jim on their journey east: the relationship between trolls and their Heartstone was very much a symbiotic relationship, each one giving life to the other.

And with as long as she'd spent among the trolls, now, sometimes she swore she could feel the Heartstone touch her own soul, too.

It had been a couple years now since the decay of Arcadia's Heartstone. Obviously it had taken them some time to complete their journey to New Jersey; upon finding the new Heartstone, they then discovered it would take even more time to nurture the fledgling crystal until it was large and stable enough to carefully break off a piece to take back to Arcadia and regrow the Heartstone there.

That time was almost upon them, and the prospect of finally returning home was causing a palpable excitement to fill the air.

Claire glanced over her shoulder when she heard some pebbles shift behind her. “Hey, Jim,” she smiled.

Smiling back, her half-troll, half-human,  _ all  _ boyfriend came up and sat down beside her. “Great view you've found up here, huh?”

“Better now that you're here,” she winked.

“Hey, I thought sappy comebacks were supposed to be _ my _ thing!”

“What can I say?” she smirked, “You must be rubbing off on me.”

“Oh really?” he chuckled, contorting his neck so he could nuzzle her shoulder with the top of his head. A low purr started rumbling in his chest.

She giggled and leaned into his touch to return his affections, bringing one of her hands up to absentmindedly massage the area just below his horns. The gesture always made Jim's purring intensify, to the point where she wondered if he was somehow part cat, too.

After a minute, he pulled away to gaze at the scene Claire had been studying moments before. “Blinky thinks we should be able to transplant a piece of the Heartstone in the next couple of weeks,” he stated.

“And then we can go home.”

“Yeah, home…” he sighed wistfully.

Not that they hadn't been back to visit - the completion of the new Gyre station made frequent trips back home a welcome occurrence after spending so long apart from their loved ones. But developing a Heartstone took work, so for the time being as many trolls as possible (and Jim) had to remain in New Jersey to oversee its growth. And where Jim stayed, Claire stayed.

Though if they would be taking a piece of Heartstone back to Arcadia soon...

She turned to face him. “Jim, if we go back to Arcadia, what's going to happen to New Trollmarket?” she gestured at the buildings below.

He bit his upper lip. “Yeah, Blinky and I have been talking about that. As great as it would be to have everyone in one spot, a good handful of the trolls seem to like it here. For whatever reason, they really like that it snows above ground during winter here,” he laughed.

“So… I take it you guys have cooked up a plan?”

“Sort of,” he explained, “Since we've got the Gyre fully operational now, Blinky figures we can easily keep tabs on both Trollmarkets by traveling back and forth between them.”

Claire had known Jim long enough at this point to easily read his expressions, and right now his face read as less than enthused. “So, what's the catch?” she asked.

“Well, Blinky will have to spend most of his time in Arcadia until the new Heartstone is stable. Which means -”

“That we'll be spending most of our time here, in New Jersey,” she finished. “That's fine! Sure, it's no Arcadia, but to be honest this place is really starting to grow on me.”

Jim gently took one of her hands, his expression steeling as if he were about to deploy to the front lines. “Not… not  _ we.  _ Just me.”

“Jim, that's  _ ridiculous _ . I'm a legal adult now, you can't tell me what to -”

He lifted his other hand, gesturing for her to let him finish. “Claire. Blinky is gonna need your help getting the new Heartstone going. He needs someone with a magic touch, and since that  _ bastard _ Merlin went AWOL…”

“Oh,” she breathed. Her thumb traced over the back of his hand while she digested his words. Eventually she found the words she wanted to say in return, “Well… as you said, there's always the Gyre. So it's not like I'll never see you.”

But despite the rationalization, she could feel tears begin to irrationally well up in the corners of her eyes. It wasn't that she  _ needed _ to be near Jim; she'd always been perfectly capable of taking on the world all by herself, thank you very much. But she'd been by his side for so long now that the thought of being separated from him… it was a lot to process on short notice.

“Hey,” he soothed, caressing her cheek as he brushed away a stray tear, “We'll still see each other all the time.”

“Promise?” she sniffed.

“Definitely. Mom will kill me if I don't visit at least three times a week,” he joked. It did the trick, causing Claire to snicker behind her tears.

She wiped her face with the back of her sleeve, “Sorry. It's just… it's been you and me for a while now, and… I dunno. I just thought…”

Jim helped her stand up from the cavern floor so he could give her a proper hug. “I know,” he murmured reassuringly in her ear.

“I love you,” she said, melting into the familiar scent of his oversized sweater.

“I know.”

“Hey,” she huffed, “stop 'Han Solo’-ing me!”

“Not romantic enough?” he teased, “How about this, then: after all this is over, I promise to spend every moment I possibly can by your side.”

“Mmm, better.”

He pulled away slightly from their embrace so he could study her expression; his own expression was serious, almost smoldering with intensity as he looked at her. Sensing a shift in the atmosphere, a swarm of butterflies started flapping around in her stomach.

Jim continued, “Being by your side is as natural as breathing, Claire. Sometimes, it's the  _ only _ natural thing I feel, what with all  _ this _ going on,” he gestured at himself. “I can't imagine my life without you in it. Well, actually, I can, but every time I do it's downright miserable.”

He paused to laugh nervously, one hand darting into the pocket of his sweater. “I don't know what the future brings for either of us, but I do know that I want my future to include you. I… I love you, Claire. So much.”

Her heart stopped when he got down on one knee.

“Will… will you marry me?”

She stared, awestruck, as he pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened the lid. Inside was a ring with a small, warmly glowing gemstone.

“Uh, ...Claire? Are you gonna leave me hanging, or…?”

“Oh! Oh god,  _ yes _ ! Yes, of course I'll marry you!” she exclaimed, ripped from her trance, on the verge of tears  _ again _ as she leaned over to thoroughly kiss her boyfriend.

Correction - her  _ fiancé _ .

When she broke the kiss, Jim was beaming at her with a lopsided smile. “So, uh, do I put this on your finger now?” he asked.

She nodded, her cheeks already sore from how wide she was smiling, and held out her left hand, watching as he slid the ring onto her finger. The reddish-orange stone pulsed rapidly in its setting. “Is that -?”

“A teeny tiny piece of Heartstone,” he grinned. “Blinky's idea. Said it was ‘swimming with symbolism’, or something like that. And he thinks it might help with your magic, maybe.”

“I love it.” She kissed him again. “And I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~let's be real, Jim was practicing those lines for _at least_ three weeks before that~~
> 
> I figured this would be a good, gratuitously sappy way to wrap up with the final prompt - hope y'all have enjoyed it :)


End file.
